Lighting candles in Hollywood: Hollywood execs are slowly realizing that making family-friendly films is in their own best financial interests, and Movieguide annually honors those at the forefront of this trend.(CULTURE WAR)

"It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." For the past 22 years, Dr. Ted Baehr and the folks at Movieguide have been proving the wisdom of that proverb in what many had considered a hopeless abyss of darkness: Hollywood. While others have merely cursed the deluge of filth, violence, profanity, and banality that Tinseltown regularly releases on our society, Movieguide and the Christian Film and Television Commission (which Dr. Baehr also heads) have been faithfully lighting candles.

And the light is winning. No, we're not about to claim that the darkness has been vanquished; that manifestly is not the case--yet. But, the darkness has been receding in some very important--and measurable--ways. One measurement--the measurement that counts in Hollywood Babylon--comes in dollar signs. The box office bottom line is succeeding where pleas, condemnations, remonstrations, and demonstrations have failed.

In short, it has become obvious to the movie studio moguls that it is very profitable to produce wholesome, inspiring, uplifting films. On the other hand, it is much less profitable to make films that offend a large segment of America's potential movie-going audience by promoting nudity, crudity, pornography, blasphemy, ...